Hello,
as I am fond of making loudspeakers out of marble I thought a thread with stone / concrete / marble boxes could be fun and inspiring for anyone who wants to use these box building materials.
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...loudspeaker-sandwich-cone.402917/post-7536566
as I am fond of making loudspeakers out of marble I thought a thread with stone / concrete / marble boxes could be fun and inspiring for anyone who wants to use these box building materials.
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...loudspeaker-sandwich-cone.402917/post-7536566
May I add another material to your list please, ceramics
I have thought about using tiles as some amazing finishes can be found
I have thought about using tiles as some amazing finishes can be found
Yes, feel free to post ceramic boxes, too.
Could be subsumized under "stone"?
If not I can ask a moderator to add the word "ceramics".
However, would like to see first this thread grow a bit.
Could be subsumized under "stone"?
If not I can ask a moderator to add the word "ceramics".
However, would like to see first this thread grow a bit.
Here my marble subwoofer with 8 inch driver.
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/full-range-speaker-photo-gallery.65061/post-7494412
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/full-range-speaker-photo-gallery.65061/post-7494412
Mine are from composites.
One layer of plywood, one layer of honeycombed aluminium, and one layer of a stone called blue barracuda.
Plywood is 15mm, aluminium is 6mm, and the stone is also 6mm. Baffle distortion is non-existent. Each material canceling each other.
One layer of plywood, one layer of honeycombed aluminium, and one layer of a stone called blue barracuda.
Plywood is 15mm, aluminium is 6mm, and the stone is also 6mm. Baffle distortion is non-existent. Each material canceling each other.
That good-looking that they look like renditions! Well done. It's been a while since I have come across someone pulling off a departure from norm, looks magnificent
One question, is the aluminium honeycomb the core in the sandwich?
A couple of reasons.
First, it's a lot easier to screw in drivers into plywood. But, the main reason is since the stone and aluminium have very high resonances, the plywood helps cancel those. So, each material helps canceling the resonance of the others.
Here are the FR and distortion graphs for each driver. Disregard the spike at 30Hz, it was a sound card glitch.
Hi there, Studley.
The stone is called Blue Barracuda (I don't make the names!)
There is a factory here that can cut slabs down to 6mm thick while glueing them to 6mm honeycombed aluminum so they don't shatter.
Most places need to cut them to at least 15mm. The factory I found do these panels for expensive yachts, so they need to cut them thin as to keep the weight down.
It was only natural to use a layer of 15mm plywood in the middle to bind them up.
The stone and aluminum was cut using water jet cutting at the factory, and I glued the panels up to the plywood. Basically a flat pack for the stone (once I explained what I wanted to do), and I made the assembly, frame, and XO myself.
Thanks for asking!
The stone is called Blue Barracuda (I don't make the names!)
There is a factory here that can cut slabs down to 6mm thick while glueing them to 6mm honeycombed aluminum so they don't shatter.
Most places need to cut them to at least 15mm. The factory I found do these panels for expensive yachts, so they need to cut them thin as to keep the weight down.
It was only natural to use a layer of 15mm plywood in the middle to bind them up.
The stone and aluminum was cut using water jet cutting at the factory, and I glued the panels up to the plywood. Basically a flat pack for the stone (once I explained what I wanted to do), and I made the assembly, frame, and XO myself.
Thanks for asking!
There is a problem with "thin cut stone". The only advantage of stone is it's weight. When you cut it thin and glue it on a hollow aluminum frame to make it as light as possible, you get the look of stone, but not it's propagated advantages.not
Anyway, just screwing some left over old car speaker in the most noble marble sarcophagus will make it sound high endish.
The problem with speaker is that you can never tell what made it sound different, the stone cabinet or maybe the bass inductor from another manufacturer. No one does such 100% exact comparison and if one would do so, it is just a single observation in an infinite number of options.
Then we run into the problem of "different". Which different is better, which one worse. In my speaker world a single part in the crossover can spoil a good speaker. Not it's brand or constructon, but it's value.
There are famous speakers out there which have to be build from thin wood. What will you get when you replace their cabinet with one made from marble?
Stone is an option of taste, but no magic sound improver for mediocre speaker constructions.
Anyway, just screwing some left over old car speaker in the most noble marble sarcophagus will make it sound high endish.
The problem with speaker is that you can never tell what made it sound different, the stone cabinet or maybe the bass inductor from another manufacturer. No one does such 100% exact comparison and if one would do so, it is just a single observation in an infinite number of options.
Then we run into the problem of "different". Which different is better, which one worse. In my speaker world a single part in the crossover can spoil a good speaker. Not it's brand or constructon, but it's value.
There are famous speakers out there which have to be build from thin wood. What will you get when you replace their cabinet with one made from marble?
Stone is an option of taste, but no magic sound improver for mediocre speaker constructions.
I believe I have a different take myself.
By using 3 different materials, I am able to cancel out distortion that would arise by using a single material.
Each of those, stone, aluminum and plywood will have a different resonant frequency. By bonding the three, they cancel each other out.
The speakers above can play very loud, but the baffle has no vibration and is not adding unwanted coloration to the sound.
If you believe that the TB W8-1772 is some left over old car speaker, well...
About the crossover. I had a "discussion" with a fellow who said he could "hear" the number of solder joints in a crossover. Would you be him, by any chance?
I'll keep my "mediocre" speakers, as they measure and sound wonderful.
By using 3 different materials, I am able to cancel out distortion that would arise by using a single material.
Each of those, stone, aluminum and plywood will have a different resonant frequency. By bonding the three, they cancel each other out.
The speakers above can play very loud, but the baffle has no vibration and is not adding unwanted coloration to the sound.
If you believe that the TB W8-1772 is some left over old car speaker, well...
About the crossover. I had a "discussion" with a fellow who said he could "hear" the number of solder joints in a crossover. Would you be him, by any chance?
I'll keep my "mediocre" speakers, as they measure and sound wonderful.
Your speakers are not the ones I refer to. I'm quite sure they will play just perfectly fine.
It is just one of these discussions where we are in the danger of slipping over spilled snake oil. So, watch your step. If we measure vibration that is one thing, if we talk about coloration it is another.
I did not say stone, marble, concrete, steel, aluminum, lead or any sandwich made from it sound bad. As long as the cabinet emitting the least energy is the best, we are on safe ground. If the magic touch comes in play, we start talking nonsense or speculate about musical instruments.
You hope your materials of choice, combined as you did, cancel something out. They will, to some extend, I'm sure. On the other hand, how do you know carefully braced plywood, with some tiles glued to the inside by means of an elastic polymer glue (only an example!), cancel out resonances much better? Just a guess or scientific fact? Maybe you understand what I want to say. Sandwiching materials we have at hand or can get easy because of a personal situation may result in nice cabinets, working well, but it is not the only way to slaughter a pig... so not a blueprint for others to reach audio nirvana.
It is just one of these discussions where we are in the danger of slipping over spilled snake oil. So, watch your step. If we measure vibration that is one thing, if we talk about coloration it is another.
I did not say stone, marble, concrete, steel, aluminum, lead or any sandwich made from it sound bad. As long as the cabinet emitting the least energy is the best, we are on safe ground. If the magic touch comes in play, we start talking nonsense or speculate about musical instruments.
You hope your materials of choice, combined as you did, cancel something out. They will, to some extend, I'm sure. On the other hand, how do you know carefully braced plywood, with some tiles glued to the inside by means of an elastic polymer glue (only an example!), cancel out resonances much better? Just a guess or scientific fact? Maybe you understand what I want to say. Sandwiching materials we have at hand or can get easy because of a personal situation may result in nice cabinets, working well, but it is not the only way to slaughter a pig... so not a blueprint for others to reach audio nirvana.
There are thousands of objects made from this light concrete. You find them quite cheap in Home Depot and gardening stores. Many could be used for speaker and subwoofer, just by glueing some baffle on one or two sides. If you like the look, don't mind the weight and follow the rules, like correct priming, I'm sure you may have great results.